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Chapter 38 - Gravity
Fairy Tail: Paths of the Soul It had started off as a fairly boring day. Amber rolled out of bed and got something to eat, careful not to wake Axel, who had slept on the couch again. After a few fruitless minutes of looking for the TV remote, she decided to head to the guild instead. It was a beautiful day out; sunny, but a cool breeze blowing through the town kept things from getting too hot. Amber figured this was the reason why the guild was pretty much empty when she got there. Clair sat at one of the tables reading a novel, not so much as giving her a passing glance when she entered the building. Elligr was snoozing at one of the back booths as well, but Amber moved on before seeing anyone else. Neither one where very good conversationalists; she didn't know what she would say to Elligr, and Clair was downright rude. She headed out the side door to the guilds tiny library, hoping one of the books would catch her attention. This too was empty, at least at first glance. Still, it was kind of comforting to be back here. The last time she could remember being here was the first day she visited the guild. "Hello?" She said softly, hoping someone would answer. Sure enough, the sleepy eyed Isa stuck her head out from a row of bookshelves with a welcoming smile. "Hi Amber." She waved, sinking back behind the shelves to resume whatever she was doing. "You're here early." "I was board." She shrugged, looking around again. "Is it just you here?" "Um..." A small blond boy at one of the far desks raised a finger sheepishly, shrinking down behind a pile of books when she looked his direction. "I am here as well." Amber recognized his face, but couldn't recall a name. Luckily for her, Isa was fairly quick on the uptake, stepping out again and brushing some dust off her hands. "Hammond has been helping me out with a few things here and there." "I see." Amber looked around. Books of all size and shape where scattered around several desks, reminding her a bit of Jaina’s hut. "So... What're you guys doing?" "Well, this is kind of what I do around here." She didn't sound like she was bragging, but Amber couldn't shake the feeling that Isa harbored a small amount of pride in her work. "I don't go out on jobs all that much, so running the library has kind of become my pastime." Amber had to admit, the quiet atmosphere certainly matched Isa’s personality. "But everyone says you're really powerful." "She is." Hammond chirped. "Oh, well..." Isa instantly became flustered, and despite hiding her eyes under the rim of her cap, Amber could have sworn she was blushing. "I-I'm not all that strong. I only really go on jobs with Leena and her friends. I'm not-." Amber chuckled; she could literally name a whole team of people who thought differently. Suddenly the door burst open, bringing Isa's modest mumbling to an end. Amber flinched away from the noise, looking back to find an exuberant Axel looking all over the room. "Guys, Zumma came back!" He shouted excitedly. Amber glanced back at the others, and Hammond jumped up from his seat. "Like, right now?" "No, in town, but he's coming here soon!" Zeke hopped up and down on Axel's shoulder, apparently just as exited as he was. "A bunch of us are getting together to try and fight him. You guys totally need to come see." "Again?" Isa sighed in disappointed. "Didn't you try this last year?" "Yeah, but this time will be different." He assured, brimming with confidence. "Me, Geno, and Rift are all taking him on at once. Terra's coming too, and probably Raven." Amber had taken a step back, deciding it better to just listen rather than ask a million questions. But still, there was one key piece of information she was missing. "And... Who's Zumma?" "You know, the guild's ace mage. The strongest guy in the guild." Axel sounded almost insulted that he even had to explain, but quickly turned to Isa with his upbeat attitude again. "You should come Isa; we might actually stand a chance with you there." Though her smile never faded, Isa had a more serious look on her face when she answered. "You know I don't like fighting, Axel." "Suet yourself." Despite her tone, Axel's mood never changed. "How about you Amber?" She was surprised to be included in the conversation so suddenly, so she had to take a moment to think about it. Sure, she didn't have that good a time her first few visits to the guilds arena. But with Axel as delighted as he was, and with there no longer being a ringer to bother her ears, she didn't see the harm in taking a look. "S-sure." "Awesome." Zeke barked, flying to her and pulling on the collar of her shirt towards the door. "C'mon, c'mon, we might miss it." Despite him having no effect on her walking speed, Zeke continued to pull as Amber walked to the door. "See you later." She waved back at Isa, who waved in turn. ---- Despite Zeke's concerns about missing the event, there was a good half an hour wait before even the first person arrived. Soon enough however, the arena building had people lining every wall. Leena, Sasha, and Bell where all waiting in the high end of the bleachers, talking and giggling among themselves. Elligr sat in the corner on the floor, but was still fast asleep. Waylind and Clair where present as well, though Clair stood by herself near the farthest wall. Jaina stood near what Amber assumed was the control box and, despite her apprehension, Isa was there next to her with Zeke hanging in her arms. Joining them in the center of the arena was Rift and Geno, who where discussing some kind of strategy with Axel. Raven was waiting at the far and of the room, with Terra sitting next to him in a meditating position. Taking a look around, Amber couldn't help but feel that this was kind of excessive for just one person. Geno and Terra where both monstrously strong, and Axel and Raven had more than enough firepower. She didn't know what Rift was capable of, but it already looked like a tall order from where she was standing. "Is all this really necessary?" She asked finally. "It's just one guy your fighting, right?" "To be honest, we're probably undercutting it." Rift admitted, pushing his shades up his nose. "If Kat or Peltin where here we might have better odds. Hell, I'd even take Leo..." He glanced at the others, flashing a grin of his pointed teeth. "This ain't going to go well for us." "Never know till we try." Geno shrugged. Rift began to laugh, but the door slowly creaked open and the whole room went silent. Amber could make out a figure standing on the other side, but couldn't see anything above his shoulders. Not because of the light, but because the person stood taller than the entrance. A hand cupped the top of the doorframe, and they slowly ducked through. Inside, Amber began to pick out more details. He had messy black hair under a brown knit cap, and a long coat that, thanks to his almost eight-foot lanky frame, barely made it to the backs of his knees. He surveyed the room from behind a pair of small blacked out glasses, and gave a smirk. "As you where, gents." The room erupted into questions, shouting, and whistling. Amber was about to cover her ears, but came to realize that none of it bothered her that much. It was weird listening to it all, considering she traded this for the tranquility of the library. What amazed her more was how everyone was reacting; you'd think this guy was some sort of movie star or something. Amber couldn't hear what was being asked, but apparently he could. "Yeah, I'm still working." Was one thing he shouted at the mob. "No, I was just in the area. Thought I'd stop in." Was another. "Alright, alright! Everyone zip it!" Jaina yelled from the back of the building. She cranked a dial on the panel she was standing next to, which began to tick like an egg timer. "Same rules as last time. Two minuets, or until one of you gives up!" Terra and Raven joined the others on one side of the arena, while the man called Zumma stepped into the other. "Just you guys?" He asked in surprise, sliding his hands into the pockets of his coat. "Where's Leo at?" "He's busy!" Jaina shouted, pulling a large lever. "Ok, fire when ready!" Amber stepped back to give them some room, but walked smack into something just as she tried to leave the ring. She stumbled a bit, holding her forehead and placing a hand on the magic walls that now encircled everyone in the arena, including her! She glanced back at Jaina at the control booth, but she wasn't paying attention, and jumped slightly when she heard the crackle of Axle's electricity. "Uh-oh…" "Here I go!" Terra roared, dashing full speed right at Zumma. She leept high into the air, a slight magic glow emanating from her feet. She flipped in mid air, then came down on him with a strong heel drop. Despite her expectations, Zumma simply stepped back out of the way. The wooden floor splintered under Terra's foot, and when she crouched down, Geno soared over her head with a flying kick of his own. Again, Zumma lazily sidestepped the attack, allowing Geno to pass him buy. Just before landing however, Zumma stretched out his hand and Geno stopped in mid air. Amber's jaw hung open; Geno was floating. Only for a moment though, as with a flick of the lanky man's wrist, Geno was sucked backwards and thrown into Terra, knocking them both into Raven on the way past. "Oh..." Amber glanced to the side to see Rift standing right next to her, looking just as suppressed as she must have. "I knew this was a stupid idea." Undeterred, Axel charged as well. He drew back his fist, electricity flashing all over his arm and yelled. "Lightning Dragon's Fist!" Zumma met this challenge head on this time, holding out his hand looking like he was going to catch Axel's. Again, Axel stopped dead, his fist mere inches from Zumma's arm. He looked like he was standing in the middle of a wind storm, slowly being pushed back by some invisible force that Zumma seemed to control. "Damn." He mumbled with a grin, cocking his head to the side. "You're getting better Axel." Axel grinned at the compliment, but with a flick, he too was sent flying. He landed between Amber and Rift, crashing hard into the magic wall and slumping to the ground. "Amber?" She spun around to find Shelly looking in on her, standing just behind Axel with her hand on the wall. "What're you doing in there?" "They turned it on before I could leave!" She said, pointing to the controls Jaina was leaning on. Shelly sprinted away instantly, but a sudden puff of hot air on her face drew Amber's attention away. Raven had gotten out from under Terra and Geno, both still dizzy from there own failed attempt, and had a massive fireball building in his hands. "Out'a the way! It's my turn!" He drew back his hand, and the fireball erupted into a massive inferno. "1st Spell: Agni!" Amber didn't see the outcome. She instinctively covered her face the second she was hit with a blast of blistering hot air. Raven was almost standing in the center of the arena, and it wasn't even directed at her, but it still felt like she was getting sunburnt. She looked up the second she had the courage, expecting to see something horrid. Unbelievably, Zumma hadn't moved an inch. Just as it had with Axel, his outstretched hand kept Raven's flames at bay. "That all you got?" He taunted. "Zumma!" Despite the roaring flames and the cheering spectators, Amber heard Jaina shouting over everything. Shelly was there too, and Isa had her hand on the barrier like she was ready to charge in at any moment. "Zumma, shut him down!" He lazily looked over his shoulder, keeping the inferno at bay without even looking. "You sure?" Jaina furiously spun away from the console. "Did I fucking stutter!?" Zumma snapped back to the fight. "You the boss." With a flick of his fingers, Raven sunk to the ground, and his flames burned out instantly. It looked like he was having trouble standing up, seemingly collapsing under his own weight. The moment both of his arms hit the floor, the walls surrounding the arena disappeared and Amber stumbled out. Jaina caught her before she hit the ground, probably moving the fasted she'd ever gone in recent memory. "I. Am so. Sorry." She lowered her to the ground, feeling along her arms for any burns. Amber shook her head to let Jaina know she was OK, but still didn't quite have the words. "Dammit!" Raven roared, jumping back to his feet again the moment he was able. "Eat this, jackass!" Flames burst to life in his hands, poised for a second attempt. He either hadn't noticing that the protective walls where down, or he simply didn't care. He raised his arm to attack, but before the flames could leave his hand Raven disappeared into a shining yellow bubble of magic. Flames roared on the inside, but not even the slightest tinge of heat made it through. Isa stepped into the arena holding out a book with glowing letters on the opened page. "That's enough Raven." She said, her eyes hidden below the shadow of her cap. "The fight's over." Another book appeared in her other hand with a flash, and a torrent of water jumped from it's pages the second it opened. The barrier surrounding him disappeared, and Raven was knocked on his back by the force of the water. He sat up and gasped for air, quickly receiving a smack to the back of his head by Zumma, who seemed to be sharing Isa's outrage. "The hell was that, dumbass?" Raven grumbled and rubbed the back of his head, remaining strangely calm all thing's considered. "We have two rules here, one of them is no magic when the walls are down!" "And the other is nobody should use it without my knowledge.” The entire building went quiet the moment they heard Davin's smooth, authoritative voice. He stood blocking the doorway, his arms crossed and a disapproving glare cast in Jaina's direction. "Is this what happens when I leave you alone with the door keys?" She grumbled something that Amber couldn't quite make out, then said. "C'mon, it was a special occasion." "Jaina..." She froze the moment she felt Isa's glare at her back, almost mirroring Davin's stance. "You told me you had permission to do this." Nervously licking her lips, Jaina pushed herself off the ground and was about to respond before Davin interrupted. "And you two..." He said, gesturing to Raven and Zumma. "We'll be talking about this later." Still dripping wet, and with Clair clutching his arm, Raven jumped to his feet and began walking for the exit. "Yeah, whatever." Davin stopped him on the way past, resting his massive hand on his shoulder. "I mean it Raven." In turn, Raven shook his hand away. "Yeah, yeah, I heard you." Davin snorted as Raven and Clair departed. "Alright folks..." Zumma called, apparently trying to improve on the tension in the air. "Show's over, time to head on home." Slowly but surely, people began leaving as well. Sasha and her team stopped by to make sure everyone was ok, but they where the only ones. "C'mon now." Isa grasped Jaina's shoulders from behind, leading her after Daven as he too made his departure. "We need to have a talk." Shelly pulled Amber to her feet the second her father was gone, probably the most concerned looking of the bunch. "Are you OK?" Amber nodded, only now getting over the shock of the whole scenario. "Yeah, I'm fine." "Yeah, sorry about that." Zumma approached slowly while rubbing the back of his head, towering over them with his eight-foot lanky build. "I thought you where in on it. Everyone's told me you're on this guy's team now." He said, gesturing to Rift. "Zumma?" Davin stuck his head back in the door, beckoning for him to fallow. "We're waiting." "Aye-aye, boss man." He left as well. It was kind of refreshing to see someone like him was so responsive to authority. After stepping aside to let Zumma pass, Davin added. "You too Rift. We need to talk too." Rift looked around at the others in surprise. "Me?" "Not about this." Davin assured. "Come back in a little bit. Once your team has..." He gestured to Axel and Geno, still recovering from their brief part of the match. "Picked themselves up, I suppose." The guild master disappeared again, leaving Amber, Shelly, and the guys to themselves. "Wow." Zeke descended from the air, landing at Amber's feet. "You guys sucked." Ignoring his taunting's, Amber had a million questions racing through her mind. Many of which she was too curious about to wait for an answer. "What the hell just happened?" "That was Zumma." Shelly sighed, guessing Amber's mindset but not exactly knowing where to begin. "He's been with the guild a really long time, and everyone says he's the strongest mage in the guild." "OK..." Amber nodded slowly. She'd heard all that before, and she was beginning to have that opinion herself after what had just happened. But was more interested in the how, rather than the who. "So, what did he do to Geno?" "Ah, well you see..." Rift quipped, laughing as Axel picked himself off the ground with a grumble. "That, is a lovely thing called Gravity Magic." Amber's jaw hung open, she'd never heard of something like that before. All the more, Rift seemed to find her reaction more amusing. "Some people can walk on walls; others use it to make stuff float; parlor tricks really. Our friend Zumma, meanwhile; can literally rip a building straight out of the ground." "We've seen it." Zeke added with a grin. "It was awesome." That seamed hard to believe. But then again, giving some of the other thing's she’d seen mages do, she'd gotten kind of use to that feeling by now. "Speaking of..." Geno cut in. "The hell didn't you do anything? You just stood there." Amber thought he was talking to her at first, but hearing Rift laugh made her decide to let it go. "Right, because I had a better shot than the two of you. Or the pyro, for that matter." Axel rolled up into a sitting position, after deciding to have a bit of a rest on the ground. "But you're suppose to be stronger than we are." "Yeah, what does that tell ya?" He chuckled again, and his cavalier attitude about the whole situation was beginning to get on all of there nerves. "Well, c'mon. Let's go see what the boss man wants." He waved for them to follow, then made his exit. Axel, Zeke, and Geno all left as well, looking a mix of disappointed and annoyed. Shelly stayed back to wait for Amber, who had just finished brushing the dirt off her knees. "So... Isa." She said, thinking back to how easily she'd stopped Raven's assault. "She really is strong." "Yep." Shelly nodded, holding a finger over her lips. "Don't let her hear you say that though." Amber nodded, but still couldn't help but be impressed. She doubted Raven went easy on his second attack, and the fact that Isa had stopped it as easily as the apparent strongest mage in the guild had felt strangely reassuring. What was more, compared to some of the others who's power she'd been warned about, knowing Isa was at the top of the pile was quite comforting. Next Chapter – Into the Badlands Category:Chapter Category:Chapters Category:Storyline Category:Paths of the Soul